Accelerating Autonomy:Inside the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League(A2RL) - Part 2

On the Move: A Siemens Automotive Podcast

Tom McCarthy is the Executive Director at ASPIRE, an organization focused on developing, or enhancing, new technologies with the goal of building a better future. ASPIRE is behind the creation of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), which hosted its first ever race in April of this year.

In Part 1 of this two-part interview, Tom and host Ed Bernardon talked about (among other things) the inspiration behind A2RL, how the race compares to others of its kind, and who Tom hoped the audience for this race would be.

In Part 2 of this Future Car episode, Ed and Tom discuss the nature of the autonomous car that teams will use to race, the nature of how the teams will compete, what Tom hopes the greatest achievement of A2RL will be, and what he envisions for the future of racing. We also get to know Tom on a more personal level in our rapid fire section where Ed asks him questions like, what was the first car he ever owned? Did he pass his driver’s test on the first try? And what does his living room on wheels look like?

Listen in to hear this and so much more!

Some Questions Asked

• What are the steps that get you into that last race, and how long is the race going to be before you're going to declare a winner? (1:25)
• Do you see a lot of cooperation between the teams? And how do you balance that cooperation versus winning? (7:42)
• How did you actually engineer the eyes and ears of the car? (16:59)
• Have you seen any crashes yet? (25:22)

In This Episode You Will Learn

• How Tom thinks speeds of the autonomous vehicles will compare with human-driven vehicles (3:46)
• What’s unique about A2RL (6:56)
• About the car that will be raced during the A2RL (11:42)
• How many A2RL races Tom envisions happening every year (29:07)
• Who Tom would pick to ride in his ‘living room on wheels’ with (38:16)

Connect with Tom McCarthy

LinkedIn

Connect with Ed Bernardon:

• LinkedIn
• Future Car: Driving a Lifestyle Revolution
• Motorsports is speeding the way to safer urban mobility
• Siemens Digital Industries Software